Washington Post artist Richard Johnsons reporting trip to    Afghanistan continues to progress. As     he writes today, hes watchingthe U.S. Armys Forward    Operating Base Lightning in Paktia province slowly shrink, with    relative comforts like Internet service disappearing as the    United States prepares to turn the base over to the Afghan    military.  
    From his post today:  
      How does a FOB wither? It starts with the luxuries.    
      The contracted caterers left a week ago, so the Army has      gone back to feeding itself. (Thursday night is Meals Ready      to Eat night). The Post Exchange (PX) where soldiers could      shop for non-essential items like candy and deodorant closed      up the week before that. The garbage guys are no longer      picking up. By the end of this week, Sniper Hill, the      Afghanistan-wide FOB internet service provider, will remove      its routers, equipment and personnel. Across the base,      soldiers can be seen dumping those luxuries that they wont      be carrying home. Everything from rugs to lamps is piling up      around the dumpsters. Everything that exits the base goes by      helicopter, or by road, and everything that leaves needs to      be provided protection.    
      Early one morning last week I took a ride along with the      Quick Reaction Force on hand for convoy support. The QRF      group of armored vehicles filled with Third Cavalry infantry      leapfrogged ahead of the draw-down convoy at various points      to be ready to assist in case the convoy came under      attack.    
      Like all things Army, the QRF team liked to get a      jump-start on the day, so we set off into the pitch dark at      around 2 a.m. in advance of the convoy. Inside the armored      vehicles all white lights are off. Conditions are cramped.      Every spare space is filled with ammunition, and what remains      is stuffed with soldiers. Drawing in the pitch black is not      an easy thing for obvious reasons, but I managed these thanks      to my red headlight. Sometime in the middle of the night we      heard over the radio that five rockets had been fired at the      FOB we had just left.    
    There are numerous other drawings up on Drawing    the World Together, Johnsons blog.  
      Dan Lamothe covers national security for The Washington Post      and anchors its military blog, Checkpoint.    
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More drawings from The Washington Posts artist in Afghanistan